Jar-closure



W. W. DODGE.

JAR CLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED [56.11.1919.

Patented Dec. 27

umrso srAr 5s gATsNT ores.

WILLIAM W. DODGE, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF GDLUMLBIA.

:mn-cmsnan Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

Application filed February 17, 1919. Serial No. 277,485,

to fit the seat in the neck or mouth of the 7 container, and having formed therein by facewise compression a seat or depression in its upper or outer face; and a lifter lying in such depression and flush with or below the to face of the disk, said lifter being made ast to the disk .in any convenient way. I

The invention is illustrated in several slightly variant forms in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a closure embodying my invention in its preferred form, that is to say, with a lifter formed of wire;

Fig. 2, a bottom face view of the same.

Fig. 3, a section on the line 3-3 of Fi 1, showing the lifter in the position whic it occupies when the disk is applied to close or seal the mouth of a container and indicating by dotted lines the position to which it is raised for use;'

Fig. 4, a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention wherein the lifter is formed of thin sheet metal;

Fig. 5, a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

F Fig. 6, a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 7, a perspective view of the lifter shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, but cut away to lighten the bail or handle portion of the lifter;

Figs. 8 and 9, perspective views of a disk or closure havin a seat or depression in the upper face ormed by compression of the body of the disk and without cutting, removing or detaching any portion of the disk;

Figs. 10 and 11, perspective views of the disks shown in Figs. 8 and 9, provided with a lifter or tab of flexible material such as tough paper, woven fabric, or the like, suitablv attached near one end to the disk;

Figs. 12 and 13, perspective views of the closure of Figs. 10 and 11 with the tab or lifter raised at its free end;

Fig. 14, a section on the line 14-14 of Figs. 10 and 11;

Fig. 15, a face view of a closure showing the tab or lifter seated in 'a depression formed in the middle portion of the disk andattached to the disk at its midlen th;

Fig. 16, a sectional viewthrong the mouth of a bottle, jar or container showing my improved stopper or closure in position.

Better to explain the nature and purpose of the invention, a brief statement of the prior art will be useful.

Heretofore, stoppers or closures of this general type, for bottles and other containers, have been made in the form of a simple disk of pulp board of suitable thickness, parafiined on one or both faces, and pressed to a seat within the mouth of the container. While such simple disk formed a very satisfactory seal or closure, it was found necessary to employ a special tool or implement for its removal, usually'a sharp implement of some sort, which punctured the disk and served as a lifter. This was found objectionable in that the diskwas destroyed or impaired for further use, as where a portion only of the contents of the container were removed and it was desirable to reseal the bottle.

To meet this difliculty the disks were provided with a tab or car projecting outward from the circumference of the disk proper, but this construction involved a considerable waste of material in cutting the disks, and required a specially designed I container mouth for its convenient and eflicient application and use. i

7 Another type of lifter or handle consists of a tab of paper, pulp board, or the like, stapled or otherwise secured to and lying upon the face of the pulp board disk. While-this is found to be a very efiicient device so far as concerns sealing the container and affording ready means of removal of the stopper, projection of the tab above the surface of the disk is objectionable because it prevents the ready and even stacking of the disks or stoppers i tubes for shipment, or use in magazines rom which to feed them to bottles or containers in bottling establishments. I

To overcome the last-noted objection, two fpllans have been resorted to. Under the rst a substantially U-shap d out i made in the face of the disk, outlining a tab or handle, the out being of a depthequal to onehalf the thickness of the pulp board of the disk, and a staple is then applied at the base or uncut end of the tab thus outlined, WlllCh tab is thereafter separated or split off from the body of the disk, but is preventedby the staple from being torn completely off in thus splitting the tab from the body of the dlsk, or when using it as a handle or hfter.

This construction avoids the unequal thickness of the disk or (proj ection'of the tab above the face of the sk, but produces a tab of inade uate strength at best, and one which speedi y becomes further weakened by moisture reaching the relatively porous and absorbentinterior of the disk and under surface of the tab, by reason of the hard finished and parafiined surface of the pulp board being cut or broken, and the porous interior belng exposed by the splitting off or separation of the tab from the body of the disk. This frequentl results in a small quantity ofmilk or ot er liquid getting upon the face of the d1sk and under the tab, the latter because of moisture condensing upon the stopper when the container is placed in an ice-chest, or left exposed to the weather, as frequently happens between delivery of the containers and arrival of servants or domesticsto take them indoors.

Under the second plan last referred to, a similar cut is made in the face of the disk of about one-half its depth or thickness, and the portion so cut or outlined is completely removed from the disk, leaving a seat or depression in which is placed and secured by a staple or like fastener, a tab of pulp board, paper, or the like. This plan, while ermittmg the use of a stronger tab or lifter, involves the use of special machinery for its manufacture, exposes the relatively porous and absorbent interior of the disk to moisture, and so weakens the disk in the cutaway portion that the fastening staple of the tab or lifter is liable, at least occasionally, to pull through or tear out of the disk when it is sought to use it for removal of the disk or stopper from the mouth of the container.

' Lifters of Wire and of sheet metal have also been proposed, but these have in every instance been made to lie upon and project above the surface of the disk, interfering with proper stacking and feeding.

To remedy the difficulties noted, I form the necessary seat or depression in the face of the disk by compresslon, without cutting or removing any portion of the disk, and in this way I produce a stopper or closure which presents no projection or proturbance of anysort on either its upper or its lower face. Such stoppers or disks may be stacked evenly and with their faces parallel, and can be readily slid one relatively to another Without liability of locking together or engaging one another, whether in' stacking preparatory to packaging and shipping, or in being delivered from a magazine or holder to the mouths of containers in bottling establishments.

Referring againto the drawings and first to Figs; 1 to 3 inclusive, A indicates a flat disk, which may be of any usual or suitable material, and is commonly of circular form, though the shape may be varied at will.. B indicates a lifter, shown in said figures in the form of a light wire staple or hail, the free ends a of which are passed through the disk from its upper surface and bent back parallel with the under surface, preferably at an angle of about 45 to the sides or limbs of the body of the staple, but directed inward from the circumference or in the general direction of the body of the staple instead of in the opposite direction. The body of the staple is, before completion of the stopper, laid parallel to and flush with the face thereof, occupying in the finished disk a seat or depression C formed in the face of said disk. This seat. or depression may, in the case of the wire lifter, best be formed by applying pressure from the upper and lower sides of the disk, sufficient to embed said lifter, both its body and its backwardly turned ends, in the disk. If preferred, however, such seat or seats may be produced through a separate operation prior to application of the lifter. The ends may be turned toward or away from each other.

The reasons for giving to the ends of the lifter the direction or position shown and above referred to are that it is necessary that said ends turn backward in the general direction of the main body of the staple in order that the body and end portions may mutually serve to hold each other to their seats in the faces of the disk, and the deflection of the ends out of line with the body portion is to prevent cutting entirely or practically through the disk from face to face, as would happen were the backwardly turned ends alined with the body portion of the lifter.

To facilitate the lifting of the handle or lifter from its seat, a slight depression D may be made just in front of the free end of the lifter, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3, and this may advantageously be done with the several variant forms or embodiments of my invention.

In Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive, I have shown the lifter as formed of light sheet metal. In these figures A indicates the disk of pulp board or like material; B the lifter or handle of sheet metal; C the lifter seat or depression; and D the extension thereof or supplemental depression facilitating the raising of the lifter from its seat. This depression as in the previous form, permits the ready engagement of the lifter by the through the disk A from itsupper to its lower surface and bent over or clenched, as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. It is preferred to provide three prongs or spurs, one at the end and two projecting laterally from opposite sides, as this gives a more secure fastening, and causesthe lifter'to bend readily at a point near the side prongs.

In practice I find it expedient to form the seat or depression C" by applying to the lifter sufficient pressure to embed it and its prongs in the disk, so that each shall lie flush with the face of the disk on, which it appears, but if desired the seats or depressions may be made before application to the v lifter.

If desired the lifter, both' in the wire and in the sheet metal structure, may have formed in it a slight depression or bend close to its point of attachment to'the disk, to facilitate and locate the final bending preparatory to use as a lifter. This is indicated at c in Figs. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 71 It is not, however, essential, particularly if light wire or sheet metal be used, or if the lifter be of the skeleton form illustrated in Fig. 7.

In Figs. 8 to 16 inclusive I have illustrated a third embodiment. In this a disk A has a seat or depression (1 formed in its upper face by compression, and extending from the central portion of the disk toward and preferably to or nearly to the circumference. This depression I produce by pressing or forcing a suitable die against the face of the disk, and compressing its bod throughout the bearing area of the die to a out one-half its normal thickness. This mode of producing the seat .or depression preserves the hard finished surface of the disk, and in fact by making more dense the pulp boardthroughout such area, tends to make the same stronger and tougher than in its original condition, at the same time precluding absorption of moisture by or entrancethereof into the body of the disk.

Within this seat or depression C I place a fiat tab, lifter or handle B, which may-- be made ofstrong or tough paper, such as parchment paper or bond paper, or of pulp board, woven fabric, or the like, buckram being found a very serviceable material for a the purpose. The tab or lifter should be sufficiently thin to prevent its projecting above the surface of the disk. It may con.-

veniently be made fast to the disk by a staple 5, located at any pointbetween the era tremities of the tab. Fig. 15 shows it at the midlength so that either or both ends of the tab may be raised' and used as a handle or lifter.

It is possible to seat the tab C flush with the face of the disk A by direct pres sure suflicient to force the tab into or embed it in the disk, but I deem it preferable,

particularly if thetab be made of pulp board or other relatively thick material, to

produce the seat initially and by a separate operation, though the present application pertains tothe finished article rather than to the mode of manufacture or production.

In the practical manufacture of stoppers of this general type it is customary to apply paraffin to the opposite faces of the more securely in its seat, thus preventing liability or tendency of the same to sprin or curl upward and project above the ace of the disk.v It also insures the coating of the 'metal with parafii n, thus "effectually guarding against corrosion of such metal, whether of the lifter or of the securing staple, and precluding any possible injury to the contents of the container by reason of the presence of the small metal points.

showing on the under side of the closure. I

The coating is indicated at d, Figs. 3 and 6, but is omitted-in the other figures in the interest of clearness.

By the simple expedient above set forth I have produced a stopper. or closure for containers, which at once avoids the objections or overcomes the defects of rior closures of this general type, yet a ords every advantage offered by any of the prior forms, and which can be produced with fewer operations and at less expense than those now generally used.

It will of course be understood that slight variations may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. For instance, the lifter when of metallic form, may be folded about or clasp the periphery of the disk instead of passing throu h the same. This and similar slight modi cations I deem as the mere equivalent ofpassing through the disk, the prominent feature of the invention being the compression of the disk to form a seat in which the lifter may lie flush with the face or 1. A stopper or closure for bottles and like containers, comprising a disk compressed to form a seat or depress on in its face; and a lifter seated in said depression wholly Within the thickness of the material of the disk, and made fast to the disk at a point between the extremities of the lifter.

2. In combination with a sealing disk or stopper having a .portion of its face compressed below the level of the surroundmg surface to form a seat or depression, a

metallic lifter seated in said depression' having its extremities passed through the disk and clenched upon its'rear side, the clenched ends extending in the general direction of the body of the disk but at an an le thereto, and flush with the face of the 4. A stopper or closure for bottles and like containers, comprising a disk having a portion of its area compressed to form a seat or depression in its facea lifter seated in said depression wholly Within the thickness of the material of the disk and made fast to the disk; and a coating of parafiin covering the face of the disk and the lifter, and serving both to render the disk waterproof and to aid in holding the lifter in the seat or depression and prevent its springing therefrom.

'In testimony whereof I have signed my.

name to this specification.

WILLIAM W. DODGE. 

